EVANS: Another year, another season of disappointment

Condos on Mars. Vending machines hawking omelets. The Lions in the Super Bowl.

That's just a short list of things I am beginning to believe I will never live to see.

May you rest in peace? Sorry pastor, but not likely. What can you do? Prayers only go so far, and God has shrugged his shoulders at that sort of football miracle.

That is too bad. I am 58 years old. The team has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. My dad used to take my two brothers and me to Tiger Stadium to watch the Lions play. In late summers, we'd go to Cranbrook for training camp.

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Later, I'd take my own kids to Oakland University for training camp and the Silverdome for games. More recently, it has been Allen Park and Ford Field.

All for naught. All for a team that last won a playoff game in 1991. I should ask the Fords for compensation. Gas money, reimbursement for tickets and why not throw in loss of consortium although I am not even sure what that is.

Sure there have been flickers of hope over the years.

The Lions went 10-4 in 1970 before stumbling in an improbable 5-0 shutout to Dallas in the opening round of the playoffs.

In 1991, the Lions defeated the Cowboys, 38-6, in the first round of the playoffs, but lost, 41-10, to the Redskins in the conference championship.

That began a stretch of relative good fortune when the team made six appearances in the postseason in nine years.

However, after the 1999 season, the Lions hit an accustomed drought and did not make the playoffs until 2011.

But last year was a season to get excited about. The team finished 10-6 and lost to the Saints, 45-28, in the playoffs.

There were plenty of reasons for optimism heading into this season; from the magnificent arm of Matthew Stafford to the incredible hands of Calvin Johnson; from the sacks of Cliff Avril to foot of Jason Hanson.

Pro football prosperity in this town is like a carton of cottage cheese. There is always a looming expiration date. The Lions imploded this season.

There is no denying the 2012 campaign was an unmitigated disaster. I know the team had a lot of injuries, but show me a football team without its fair share of aches and pains and I'll show you a flag in every player's pocket and a Miller Lite beer commercial.

Get past the injuries, and there were just too many subpar performances; by the guys in the huddle, by the coaches along the sidelines, and by the folks in the front office.

There just seemed to be general disarray all season long. Too little discipline, too many penalties, and way too much bad behavior.

If it wasn't replayed on the field, it was in the locker room.

If somebody wasn't sucker punching a teammate, somebody was getting pulled over by the cops in the preseason. What is this, the NFL or Bad Boys II?

The last time the Lions won a championship was in 1957, and I was three years old when Detroit beat Cleveland, 59-14. Some of the guys on that team were Bobby Layne, Hopalong Cassady, Leon Hart, Yale Lary, Gil Mains, Jim David, Harley Sewell and Terry Barr.

Most of the players on that team have sadly passed. I figure that will be my fate when the Lions finally do get to the Super Bowl, if that ever happens.

That is really too bad, because I have enjoyed watching them over the years.